Learning outcomes

This assessment covers the following learning outcomes:

LO1: Identify and apply the communication and administrative processes for the construction phase.

LO2: Prepare progress claims and provide costs for work executed, prepare and present costs of variations, prepare and present cost fluctuations, prepare and present time extension claims.

Task 1: Variations

a. Explain the purpose of variations. Use a bullet list.

b. For each of the following situations identify whether a variation between the client and the main contractor exists. Include a brief explanation to support each of your answers and state who pays for the variation.

1. Your company proceeded with procurement of the subcontract trades in the three weeks prior to the start-up meeting. Knowing that the architect wasn’t issuing the For Construction documents until the start-up meeting, you requested the structural steel subcontractor to immediately commence the shop drawings, based on the tender issue documents. You are hoping to mitigate any delay to the program from the late issue of the For Construction documents. When you do review the For Construction drawings you notice that there is additional steel along the north elevation. You contact the structural steel subcontractor about this, and they advise that they have already completed the shop drawings for that section of the building and will need to redo the drawings.

2. Setout of the phase 1 building is completed, and the excavation of the footings has begun. Rather than boxing the large foundation pads, your company has decided to pour the concrete ‘to the country’, which will save time and costs as the formwork labor and materials are deleted. The engineer has approved this method of construction.

3. You have received a variation price request that changes the materials to be used for lining the distribution warehouse

c. Identify the six major components that make up the pricing of a variation.

d. In a cost-reimbursement contract when could a variation be claimed?

e. Other than Section 9 of NZS 3910:2013, what other sections relate to pricing changes to the contract price? Provide the section number and a brief description of the section subject.

f. Carefully read each of the contract instruction extracts, consider the information provided. For each contract, instruction prepares a variation ready for submission to the ETC.